Cabgo-slusfok



l. HEFFRON.

CARGO SLING. APPLICATION FILED APR. 2. IsIa.

` PanIedAug. 26,1919.

ISAAC HEFFBON, OF GALVESTON, TEXAS.

oARGo-sLING.

' Specification of Letters Patent; Patented Aug, 26,o 1919.

Appncanbn mea April 2, 191s. semi No. 226.263.

To all whom it may concern l f l Be it known that I, ISAAC Harmon, acitizen of the United States, and a resident of Galveston, in the countyofGalveston and State of Texas, haveinyented certain new andV usefulImprovements in Cargo-Slings, of whichthe following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in cargo slings, and it consistsinthe constructions, combinations and arrangements herein described andclaimed. y

An object of, my invention is tol provide an improved cargo sling to 'beused in loading and discharging the cargo of a ship, one of theimportant features of the sling being thel lflexible and slatted basewhich by reason of its peculiar construction readilyconforms itself to`variously shaped objects.

Another object of the invention is to provide a cargo slino' including aflexible support consistingl of longitudinally disposed cables, having aplurality of slats mounted thereon by slotting the Aendsof the slats toreceive the cables, said slats being slidable on the cables and therebyreadily conforming to variously shaped objects.

Another object of the invention is to provide a. cargo sling of suchconstruction and consisting of parts of such a nature that they may beemployed to make, cargo slings of various lengths should it becomenecessary to do so.

Another object of the invention is to provide a cargo sling comprising aflexible slat support formed with a loop in one end, and having a ropeloop at the other end adapted to be threaded through the support loop,providing a' single suspension and at the same time, providing means forautomatically tightening the sling on the load.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the following specification,reference being had to the accompanying drawing in which:

Figure 1 is a plan view of the cargo sling illustrating the use of asingle wire cable,

Fig. Q is a plan View of the cargo sling illustrating the use of a pairof strands to form the flexible support,

Fig. 3 is a cross section on the line 3*-3 of Fig. 2, and

Fig. l is a. detail cross section on the line 1 -4 of Fig. 3.

In carrying out my invention I provide in one of the forms of theinvention a flexible support consisting of a wire cable 1 which takesthe shape of a loop substantially as shown in Fig. 1. A leather chafiugpiece 2 is fitted on the bight of the wire cable 1 A and the free endsof the cable are formed into eyelets 3 `in which metallic thimbles elare fitted.

'.lhe ends of a rope .loop 5 are attached to the eyelets El, and thebight of the loop 5 is intemled to be threaded through the bight of thecable 1 and attached to the hook of the hoisting mechanism in liftingthe load. The dual function of providing a single suspension andautomatically tightening the cargo sling upon the load is thusperformed.

h'louuted crosswise of `the wire cable or loop l is a plurality of slats6 which are made of wood or any other suitable material and have slots 7cut into the opposite ends to provide recesses which are occupied by thellexible supports. Bolts S or other readily removable means are ixed inplace through the ends of the slats (i as shown in Fig. 3, and providekeepers for the flexible supports. It will be observed that the slatsare freely slidable upon the flexible supports `and thus readily conformthemselves to the object which is being conveyed.

To facilitate the relative movement of the slats G, the longitudinaledges are rounded as at 9. The advantage of rounding the edges of theslats will be readily appreciated when it is understood that in bendingthe cargo sling upwardly as in conforming it to the load7 the variousslats rotate one upon the other and were it not for the rounded edges asjust described, there would be a certain amount of binding of edge uponedge and this would have an undesirable effect in actual practice. Itwill be observed in Figs. 1 and Q that the end slats 6 graduallydiminish in length so that the ends of the base taper slightly. Thepurpose of this tapered formation is, to gradually bend the parts of thecable 1 toward the bight in the cable 1 and in the rope loop 5.Obviously were it not for this tapered formation, the bend in the partsof the flexible support would be too sudden where it leaves the endslats, thus causing undue wear on the flexible support.

A slightly different form in the flexible support is shown in Fig. 2.Here the flexible support 1 consists of a pair of strands with eyelets 3in each end. These eyelets have metallic thimbles and the ends of therope loop areattachedinone pairy of thesel'eye lets as shown, while ashort rope section 10 is secured between the other two eyelets. Both ofthe forms of the invention operate the saine, but it is conceivable thatthefform of the invention shown in F ig. 2fmay have some advantagesover. the form shown in Fig. 1.

The strands l in Fig. 2 may be made in various lengths, that is to say asup-ply of strands ofv'arious lengths may be kept on hand. Similarly, asupply of the slats 6 may be kept on hand and should it be desired tomake a longer cargo sling, a pair of strands of a suitable length areselected and then the slats are attached by' simply removing` andreplacing the bolts 8 so that the slats are fitted in positionon thestrands.

One of 4the important features of the invention resides in thearrangement of attaching the slats tothe flexible supports. It will beobserved that the flexible supports are well housed within the ends ofthe slats and thus are thoroughly protected from damage as wouldordinarily result by the rough usagey to which the cargo sling is put.In operation the load is simply placed on the base of the sling whichconsists of the slats 6, and the bight of the rope loop 5 is passedthrough the bight of the flexible support and then is attached to thehook of the hoisting apparatus. On pulling upwardly, thecargo slingtightens upon the load and the slatted base at once conforms vto theshape of the load. nal edges 9 illustrated more particularly in Fig. 4,make it possible to do this more rapidly than would yotherwise be thecase. As was Aformerly explained, the absence of sharp edges Ion theslats 6 prevent wedging,^bind ing and breaking of the slatsand thus'theThe rounded longitudi` eijiciency of the cargofsling is greatlyenhanced.kr 'f While the construction and arrangement of thecargoslingasillustrated in the accompanying drawings, is that of a generally:preferred form, obviously modiiications and changes may be made withoutdeparting p fromthe spirit of the invention or the scope ble vloadsupporting"basel carried by said cable, comprising slats'flhavingrounded adjacent edges 'to facilitatetre'lative lmovement and' providedwith1 slottedends to receive and housethe-'side membersr of the cable;

and means extending4 through said slotted nds forming keepers for saidcable memers.

' 2'. A cargo sling, comprising longitudinal :HeXible supportsvconsisting o'f `a looped cable with'a `bightia't oney end havingprotecting means atpne end and eyeletsat the other, av slatted base*spanning the flexible supports, the slatsfof said basev having'slottedends with retaining melansfor receiving 'and keeping' fthe support in aprotected position, the ends ofsaid slottedv base being tapered togradually lead said" supports to the regions of ,the bightand1 eyelets;and a rope loop attached Ato saide'yelets, adapted to be drawn throughthe cable loop in lifting'aload.

ISAAC HEFFRON..`

Vitnesses: f` FRANK M. QUIN,

WV. LUBBN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

' Washington, D./C."

